Gal Costa, legendary Brazilian singer, has died at age 77, his manager Mario Mendez has confirmed.
The singer was born Mario Manuel de Souza Lopes in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1937 to Portuguese parents. He sang in a local band with his brothers during his school years, later becoming a regular at the local Copacabana nightlife. He first gained international acclaim in 1963 when he performed at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo.
But it was the Brazilian musical charts at the time of the 1964 Carnival that saw Costa’s career begin to take off.
With a new wave of Carnacian music emerging in Latin America, Brazilians were captivated by the sound of Costa’s music, and it would soon be dubbed the “Brazilian pop movement.” He had been a fan of Brazilian composers such as Luiz Bonfá and Brazil’s “new wave” artists such as Caetano Veloso, and his music soon became popular in the country’s musical scene.
In 1974, he made his debut on the European charts, with the song “Vestido de cabeça” (English: “Wearing the Headphones”), a smash hit in the Netherlands. That same year, he earned a top 10 hit in the UK with the song “O Senhor de Beber”.
“Vestido de cabeça” made Costa a star in Europe for a brief period in 1974-75, but it was the single “O Lago” (English: “The Lake”) that was soon to become an international sensation. Billboard’s first issue of 1974 was dedicated to Costa, and he would go on to have a lengthy career in Europe and a second American #1 in 1976, “Como O Mundo Fica A Caçada”, which also reached the top 5 in Japan.
In 1974, Costa’s popularity began to decline in Brazil, and the rest of the world, in the mid-’70s. However, he was still very popular in Brazil with his song “Como Se Fosse Uma Amiga” (English: